We had a little celebration this afternoon when she took her last dose of the yucky antibiotic and got to throw it in the trash can. She was so happy to do that!

Today is her 3 1/2 birthday, so I took her to the candy shop to let her choose anything she wanted. She chose a tiny handful of probably 2 dozen blue Sixlets. Okay!

November 9, 2014

Elizabeth and I often sing each other songs before bed. Normally "You Are My Sunshine" or "Goodnight Sweetheart." She said she had a new song for me, called "Waiting."

And when we see each otherWe will be so surprisedWe'll greet with hugs and kissesAnd see with our eyes

And when my Mommy finds meWe'll see our footprintsAnd look in the waterAnd see with our eyes

I don't know where these words came from, but they were important enough to her that she made me learn them and repeat them back to her. What a treasure.

November 10, 2014

Now that she's on the other side of the bronchitis incident, it was time for her flu shot. Understandably, she was a little apprehensive and cried some tears before and during the shot. Quickly after the shot, she said "That wasn't bad at all!"

In the car after getting her shot, she said "Mommy, I'm brave at haunted houses, the doctor, and getting a shot. I'm brave enough for Tower of Terror now."

November 11, 2014

Just a cute picture from preschool.

November 12, 2014

Back in August when we went to our first Colts pre-season game, Lizzy became enthralled with Blue, the mascot. I had emailed them in hopes of somehow being able to have her meet Blue at some point. Long story short, they were going to do a seat visit, that fell through, and to make it up to her, Blue came to Little Explorers today to visit Elizabeth, and stay to visit the other children as well.

When he first arrived, we brought Lizzy up to the lobby so she got some 1 on 1 time with him before he met the other children. He spent several minutes with her, giving hugs, high fives, and he gave her a special Blue bobble head, some really cool Blue sunglasses, and signed her Blue doll. Then we had a chance to take lots of pictures!

Afterwards, he went to the other classrooms. In the first class, he pulled up a chair for Lizzy to sit next to him while he met the other kids and signed pictures for them. Every few kids, he’d stop and give her a high five, or pat her. She was so excited. It was a wonderful experience, and I am so thankful it all came together as it did.

Later in the day, Daddy tweeted the photo of Lizzy and Blue walking in the hall together to the Colts. They retweeted it with #CutenessOverload. Thousands of people got to see that photo!

After the Blue excitement, regular activities resumed. I love this photo of the other children looking at Elizabeth's project progress.

Here were the gifts Blue brought for Elizabeth, and her now signed Blue doll:

November 15, 2014

I had a haircut in the morning, so Elizabeth then wanted a haircut. She said she wanted "long layers" - ha! So, she got a haircut with long layers.

Hamilton Town Center was having a Christmas celebration, so there also had to be face painting! Rudolph, naturally.

There was a wandering magician at the festival who asked Elizabeth to help him with a magic trick. She waved her hands over a card and it magically changed. She turned to look at us and said "I have magic hands!" She then spent the rest of the afternoon doing magic tricks with her magic hands.

Before bed, Elizabeth started sobbing uncontrollably. I got her calmed down enough to ask her why. She said "When I grow up and be a Mommy, then you won't be my Mommy anymore!" It took several minutes for me to explain to her that I'll always be her Mommy, even when she grows big. Sweet girl.

November 18. 2014

She informed me that, when she becomes a Mommy, if she has a girl she will name her Olivia. If she has a boy, she will name him Spatula. Then she proceeded to laugh hysterically, as she loves the absurd.

November 23, 2014

After waking up to watch racing, we got ready for the Colts game.

On our drive down to the game, she was playing with my phone. She ended up on a facebook messenger thread with my family where everyone was planning holiday festivities. She started typing:

Funny - and smart - girl!

We had pre-paid parking next door to Shapiro's, so clearly lunch there was on the agenda. Chicken noodle soup for Lizzy!

As always, we had an utterly FANTASTIC time at the game. And, as with each regular season Colts game Lizzy has attended, they won (just sayin' - when she doesn't go, they don't win...)

November 25, 2014

Lizzy came home from preschool with a backpack full of Thanksgiving crafts. The best was a Thanksgiving card she'd written.

November 26, 2014

We wrapped and labeled Christmas gifts. Isn't she getting good at writing? This one is for Ed.

Lizzy asked if we'd take her to the pet store to see the animals. While there, we spent about 20 minutes playing with a Bulldog puppy. She had tears in her eyes when we had to leave him behind. She so badly wants a puppy, but we know that isn't something to leap into without being prepared. So, we're using the puppy idea as a chance to have the conversation about being responsible, independent, etc. It would seem we will be getting a puppy for her 4th birthday in May (I like that timing better than the middle of winter anyhow), so we can get our house ready with all the supplies and setup before bringing home our new family member. She's already decided he will be named Winston.

November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving Day was perfect. Gay and Ed came over and we all had a lovely dinner together. After they left, we all had a big nap, which then meant Lizzy was up until 11:30 pm. Whoops!

November 28, 2014

We took Daddy to the airport, since he's going to London for a week to see his family. After we dropped him off at security, she and I then spent the next THIRTY MINUTES riding the escalators and elevators. She got to do it until she'd had her fill. I guess she's lucky I don't mind repetition, or airports!

We returned home, had lunch, and had a lovely nap together. Once up, we didn't want to lay around the house, so we went to the mall. We hit up 7 stores, had dinner together, and then went to the late show of Big Hero 6 (the second time we've seen it!) We had a wonderful Black Friday.

November 29, 2014

Bubble bath fun!

November 30, 2014

Since Lizzy is now obsessed with getting a dog, I took her to Build-a-Bear to build a practice Bulldog, which she named Winston as well.

December 1, 2014

Lizzy's first advent calendar. What fun!

December 5, 2014

Lizzy and I went to the YMCA to make a Gingerbread (well, graham cracker) house. We're so proud of our creation. She couldn't wait for Daddy to see it, as he returned from the UK tonight.

December 9, 2014

December 10, 2014

December 11, 2014

Lizzy's new mattress arrived today. What a comfy big girl bed!

December 12, 2014

What a fantastic day we had! We started our day by Lizzy dictating her letter to Santa, which we then dropped in the North Pole mailbox at the Town Hall.

Next, we did our nails to be festive.

Then we got dressed to head downtown to the Yuletide Celebration. I couldn't get her to stop being silly to finally get a good picture!

We headed downtown and had lunch, then walked to the Circle. Outside they had two reindeer! The show itself was fantastic. She especially loved the reindeer puppets that "flew" in, and the tap dancing Santas.

December 13, 2014

We had breakfast with Santa. She told him she wanted a Go Go Puppy, a Doodle Bear, and a "Style Up Table", just as she'd asked him for in her letter the prior day. She also asked him who his favorite reindeer is. She told him her favorites are Cupid and Dasher.

December 14, 2014

Our last regular season Colts game was today. Our good friend Dan came with us. We went to Shapiro's for lunch, then walked over to the stadium. We had a great time!

December 16, 2014

After I picked Lizzy up from preschool, she asked me if I would take her to the vet's office so she could see inside. I didn't see any harm in taking her to the vet's lobby, so I took her. She had her stuffed Winston with her too. We went in the lobby and looked around. The vet happened to be standing there, so she asked if she could help us. I explained that Lizzy wants to be a vet when she grows up, and that she's getting a puppy for her birthday.

The vet came around, and asked to shake Lizzy's hand. She asked her name. "I'm Lizzy. I'm 3 and I want to be a veterinarian." The vet told her "you are going to have to start introducing yourself as Dr. Lizzy is you're going to be a veterinarian." The smile on her little face was priceless.

The vet gave us the full tour, which included putting Winston on the exam table, and letting Lizzy use the otoscope and stethoscope on him. She was beyond thrilled.

December 17, 2014

Lizzy's Christmas program was tonight. She did a great job, performing 4 songs with her class. She was standing in the back so she was hard to photograph during the performance, but I did get this cute photo when she went back on stage at the end of the performance.

December 18, 2014

We got this utterly adorable card from Lizzy's preschool.

Lizzy also got a letter back from the North Pole! Santa took the time to customize his letter to her based on what she had written to him. It was so special to her.

December 21, 2014

Our annual get together with my friends for Christmas was great fun. I LOVE that we're able to bring our kiddos along! They each got to open a present, too.

December 24, 2014

Another fantastic Christmas Eve in the books. We hosted the family for a festive afternoon gathering, and Lizzy got to wake up from a nap to find the house filled with family, and her new trampoline! She LOVED it.

December 25, 2014

Possibly the best Christmas ever. The excitement of watching Christmas through a child's eyes fills my heart with such joy. I have always loved Christmas, but seeing her excitement over every aspect of the celebration makes me love it even more.

She descended the stairs to find the gifts she had asked Santa for: a Go-Go Puppy, a Doodle Bear, and her "style up" table.

The cutest part of the day:

"I like when Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, and Cupid came to my house. But it's not the same Cupid as Valentine's Day. That cupid shoots people with a bow and arrow to make them fall in love. But I'm already in love with my Mommy and Daddy."

Awwwwwwwwwww.

January 1, 2015

Happy New Year! After celebrating the night before at our friend's new house, we came home to find our big TV in the living room had given up the ghost after 10 years of dutiful service. Daddy went and got a new 4K 3D TV, so we immediately tried out the 3D with Finding Nemo. Lizzy was delighted. She kept saying "The words are in the room!" when the titles would pop out. So cute!

January 4, 2015

When I was little, about 3 or 4, I LOVED He-Man. Gay and Ed still have some of my old toys, and had showed Lizzy Snake Mountain. She asked to watch He-Man, and now is totally hooked. She drew this drawing of He-Man (at the bottom with 2 legs), Battlecat (at the bottom with 4 legs) and Skeletor (in the middle)

January 6, 2015

Our first snowfall of the year means, of course, we get to play with snow in the sink. She started making pretend snow cones at a snow cone shop named "Snow Cone Dangerous."

January 13, 2015

At preschool this week, they had to choose to draw an animal. She drew her future doggie, and wrote his name (Winston) all on her own. If you look closely, you can spot all the letters.

January 14, 2015

Being silly, as usual, at BW3s.

January 15, 2015

I was missing her terribly, so I asked Gay Gay if she could take a picture of Lizzy to send to me. She sent me this:

After weeks of a He-Man obsession, I decided to get her her own Panthor and Battle Cat. Found this pair on eBay for steal. She was thrilled when the finally arrived.

January 16, 2015

After weeks of waiting, she was so excited to see the Paddington film. She had to bring along the Paddington Bear her Daddy had brought her home from London and given her for Christmas.

January 17, 2015

Since she didn't yet have Skeletor, she improvised:

January 18, 2015

The NFC and AFC championship games were today. Here she is, proudly supporting her two teams, before they both lost a few hours later.

January 21, 2015

Back in October, we had purchased tickets to the Pro Bowl (to be played on January 25 in Phoenix). However, Tommy's travel schedule dictated he had to be in Buffalo until the morning of the 24th, and back in Indy on the 26th. I didn't see much sense in traveling to Phoenix for 36 hours, so we sold the tickets. In the meantime, Ed and Gay had planned a trip to Philadelphia to coincide with when we'd be in Phoenix. Since Lizzy and I had nowhere else to be, we house sat for Gay and Ed from Wednesday night until Saturday morning.

Wednesday night, I received the following photo from Tommy. While I rural Minnesota, he found an unusual menu item:

When I told her about being able to eat her as a menu item, she said we can't eat her because her tummy is full of poop and we would taste the poop and it would be yucky.January 22, 2015

Gay and Ed left their house in the wee hours, so Lizzy and I had their house to ourselves! We had a fantastic day: we played with the dogs (a ton), watched movies, napped, had a lovely bath, and played with this bizarre ensemble of characters:

Another thing we did, involved me teaching Lizzy how to text from her phone to mine. After she played around with the emojis for awhile, I then taught her how to voice dictate a text. For the next hour or so, my phone was filled with hilarious texts, such as these:

That bottom one is supposed to say "Bingo likes to poop." She knows how to spell Bingo and poop. The other words are just a formality. :o)

January 23, 2015

After being homebodies the day prior, today we decided to get out into Anderson and run some errands and have lunch. We went to the Chinese buffet. Lizzy loves egg drop soup. Check out the intensity!

January 31, 2015

This past week has been pretty rough, with both Lizzy and I having a nasty cold. We're finally feeling better, but are still using every availability opportunity to relax and take it easy. Case in point.

We had gone to Anderson in the afternoon, which is where she normally is only with Gay and Ed. As we were driving, she looked out the window and asked "Are we in Gay and Ed's world?"

As I was putting her backpack on her this morning to get ready for preschool, Lizzy said "Mommy, some of the kids in the Green Room thought it's called a "pack pack." I told them they were wrong and that it's really a backpack. They're not very smart."

While I'm proud of her for feeling confident enough to teach the other children, I was a little surprised she pointed out that she thinks the other children aren't "very smart." I was sort of at a loss on if this was a teachable moment, and sort of missed the opportunity since I was surprised and caught off guard by her observation. I suppose it's inevitable that at some point she will realize that she's smarter than the average child. I think by her age I had figured out that I was. But how do you have a conversation with an almost 4 year old on this topic?

February 5, 2015

Today Gay and Ed took Lizzy to a big dog show at the State Fairgrounds! She got to see so many dogs. The owner/handlers were all so friendly, and she got to pet and meet lots. She had insisted on taking her phone, so she could take her own pictures too. She had a blast!

February 7, 2015

Haircut day! Whenever I get my haircut, she also wants hers cut the same day.

While I was getting my hair cut, she and her Daddy went to pick out her Valentines for her class. She chose Ninja Turtles valentines. We spent the afternoon signing her cards and making treat bags. Fun fun!

February 9, 2015

Lizzy got to meet a baby lamb, and walk him on a leash. How cute is this?

February 13, 2015

She was so excited for her Valentine's party at preschool. The best part of being in both the 3 and 4 year old rooms is double the Valentine's fun. She came home with so many cards, treats, and prizes!

For dinner we went to Napolese with the Lewises. Naveen brought Lizzy a mask for his valentine to her.

February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day from the sweetest, kindest, most full-of-love girl I know.

Click each photo to enlarge and scroll through the gallery.

We worked on Lizzy's "all about me" poster for the 4-year old room at preschool. I'm so proud of how well she's writing...and that she chose to draw broccoli as her favorite food.

February 15, 2015

Daddy had had the wonderful idea a few weeks prior of taking his girl to Melting Pot on Valentine's Day weekend for something a little out of the ordinary. She was so excited about "cooking her own dinner."

Before we went, we stopped by Costco. She had on her beautiful red dress and looked utterly adorable. People kept looking at her and telling her how pretty she was. She said "Why are people always looking at me?" Well, when you're so uniquely beautiful, it's hard for people to look away.

Melting Pot was fun. The quality isn't what it used to be, but she loved the experience, especially cooking her own chicken. "I'm like a grown up!"

February 24, 2015

At preschool, Lizzy spends the morning in the 3 year old class and the afternoons in the 4 year old class, to work on reading, etc. This has worked beautifully for her this year, as she's been perfectly pushed and challenged, and she ADORES her teacher in the 4-year old room.

Today, that teacher had an appointment, so the teacher who normally has the 4-year olds in the morning covered in the afternoon. She had never met Lizzy. When I picked Lizzy up, that teacher came over to me to tell me how amazingly smart Lizzy is. She more than holds her own in the 4-year old room, and the teacher was so impressed with her intelligence. She also mentioned what a funny little girl Lizzy is - that she kept the teacher laughing all day.

She asked me what our plans are for her next year - that she'll be in the 5 year old room in the mornings and the 4 year old room again in the afternoons. She said that is a great plan, as it will keep her challenged and learning. She is an absolute sponge, and never ceases to surprise us with her retention and ability to understand complex concepts.

I know she's smart, but it's so nice to hear that again from someone who had the pleasure of experiencing this amazing little girl for the first time. We hear so often how beautiful she is, but there's so much more depth to her than just her stunning features.

February 26, 2015

Gay and Ed bought Lizzy a new bunny, who she has named Sally. She is so in love! Sally is a very friendly little bunny, who follows Lizzy around, plays, and loves to cuddle.

February 27, 2015

Since Lizzy wasn't going to be back at Gay and Ed's for 5 days, she insisted on bringing Sally home to our house. It was so much fun having a baby bunny around!

February 28, 2015

Lizzy and I were coming down the stairs, and I was talking about something (can't remember what.) She, wanting me to be quiet, said "Mama, pause yourself."

March 2, 2015

Time for the 6-month dentist checkup. She did fantastic! She got x-rays and has no cavities.

March 3 - 4, 2015

Some photos from her two days at preschool this week. She is always so intent on what she's doing.

March 6, 2015

Gay and Ed took Lizzy to the Muncie Children's Museum and Chuck-E-Cheese today. She had fun as always!

She likes to play in the bathroom sink and I'll often let her do so, since she can't really get into much trouble in there. She called out to me after a minute or two "Mommy, I washed the mirror for you with soap and water. It's so clean now!"

March 7, 2015

Swim lesson time! She had asked, on her own, if she could take swim lessons, so today was her first one. She loved it!

March 8, 2015

It was a beautiful weekend, so we had to spend some time at the park. This included being silly and getting in the baby swings.

March 9, 2015

Before she went to sleep, I was listing a litany of things for which I am so proud of her. After I had finished, she said "Mommy, I'm proud of how you use sharp knives."

She also said that when she grows big, she wants Daddy to be her husband, because she loves him more than any other boy in the world. Then, her eyes filled with tears as she explained she never wants to move to another house away from Mommy and Daddy when she grows big. I told her she can live with us forever if she wants to. That seemed to help.

March 13, 2015

Daddy has been traveling a lot for work lately, so he and I had arranged to take the day off together to take Lizzy to the Children's Museum. We had an utterly magnificent time! She loved the Dinosphere, climbing in the kids area, being silly at lunch, and riding the carousel. We went ahead and purchased a membership, so we will get to go lots more this year!

March 14, 2015

We had dinner with the Lewises, and then we went and watched while Daddy and Uncle Dave went go-karting. It was so fun to watch, and the kids really had a good time.

March 16, 2015

Today was the first 70+ degree day, so once we got home, we played outside a lot! As night fell, we did some chalk art on the driveway. She loves ninja turtles right now, so we drew some turtles.

March 18, 2015

Today in the 3-year old room, they did "yucky" and "yummy" tastes with different foods and flavors. Guess this was a yucky!

I got to go and read to Lizzy's 4-year old class today. She had selected her favorite book about dogs. She was so excited when I arrived! She had a big grin on her face the entire time I read to the class. I'm so lucky to be her mom.

March 21, 2015

Excited before swim class!

After swim class (in which she is learning so much!), we came home, had lunch, and had a nap since we were going to have a late night. We went and had a fun pre-game dinner, and then went to the Pacers game.

As we settled in to watch the game, of course she kept asking about Boomer. "Mommy, when will I get to meet Boomer?" Knowing I had to do something to make that a possibility, I snuck down to the suite concierge and put in our request to have Boomer stop by. She said she'd do her best.

Sure enough, at the start of the fourth quarter, Boomer showed up in our suite! She was so excited. He even brought her a bag of Pacers goodies.

I couldn't help but make these collages of Lizzy with her mascot friends. The one with her from behind with Blue and Boomer is my favorite.

March 22, 2015

Just having some fun at Target.

March 23, 2015

I arrived at work Monday to the most incredible compliment in an email from a co-worker who had been at the Pacers game as well on Saturday night. It made my heart soar.

"I just wanted to tell you that your daughter is
adorable and that you are a wonderful momma! The closeness
that you have with your daughter is beautiful! You can see the love in the way she looks at you and the way you look at her. I just notice when parents have a true connection with their kids."

There is no higher honor than being her Mama, and no higher compliment than hearing you are a good mom. Nothing is more important than that.I was feeling quite tired on Monday, so as we were laying in bed watching a cartoon, I dozed off. Tommy went into his office to do some work, and Lizzy stayed and watched the show. Apparently, I started talking in my sleep, saying "I don't remember where I put the noodles!" Lizzy didn't know I was asleep, and went into Tommy's office to ask him "Daddy, where did Mama put the noodles?" He came in, ascertained I was dreaming, and told Lizzy I was talking in my sleep. She thought this was hi-lar-i-ous and I was woken up by her laughing hysterically. She then proceeded to pretend to be asleep herself, and saying "I don't remember where I put the noodles!", cracking herself up each time. March 25, 2015

Look who made the newspaper!

March 27, 2015

Lizzy and Ed were having a silly disagreement about what color something was. He was saying one color, she was saying another. She walked over to him, mimed "taking his brain out of his head", and said "I put a new brain in your head. There. I've changed your mind."

March 28, 2015

Another wonderful swim class this morning. She's making terrific progress! She can now kick with her legs behind her, do rotary breathing when holding onto the side of the pool, and do a backstroke while wearing a flotation device on her tummy. She's learning so much.

March 29, 2015

She wanted to make cookies for the Community Helpers, so we delivered cookies to the Police and Fire stations. As before, when we took cookies to the fire department on Christmas, she got to sit in the fire truck. I got a much better photo this time around!

Before bed, I asked her what her favorite memory of her entire life was. Maybe going to Disney, or London, or having Blue the Horse come to meet her. Her response?

"I like when I get to use sharp kniveses."

March 30, 2015

Lizzy wrote this sweet note to Gay Gay, all by herself.

Our future puppy, Winston was born this afternoon. Here is in the lower left corner of this photo. He'll get to come home with us in early June.

April 1, 2015

After dinner, we went to Uncle Bill's to see the puppies and start looking for pet supplies for Winston. As we were leaving, she saw a manhole cover, saw that it said SEWER (all on her own!), and I had to take her photo since she had on her Ninja Turtles shirt.

April 2, 2015

We ordered a pizza for dinner from Hot Box. I was SO PROUD when she read "HOT BOX PIZZA" 100% on her own! WE HAVE A READER!!!!!!!!!She can read and write. I think that's the threshold for saying my not-yet-4-year old can read, just like her Momma could at this age.

I could not be prouder.

April 4, 2015

Our neighborhood’s annual Easter party was today, and she had a magnificent time. She loved finding eggs, and she won the egg race! Out of all the kids, most whom were older than she is, she was the only one who made it all the way down and back without dropping her egg and having to start over. She knew, innately, that slow and steady wins the race. She was so proud of her victory!

After the egg race victor had claimed her prize, the Easter bunny arrived. She ran as fast as she could to greet him.

April 5, 2015Easter was a wonderful day. The Easter Bunny brought a fantastic basked filled with Turtle and My Little Pony goodies, workbooks, and soaps and bath treats. The egg hunt was great too. The Easter Bunny had hidden Ninja Turtle socks in the eggs, and she loved finding those! But the ultimate hit, out of all the wonderful toys and surprises, were these:

Remember these things? Well, they still smell like they always have. Lizzy LOVED them!After opening our basket and hunting eggs, we met Gay and Ed at Perkin’s for Easter Breakfast.

Then, after awaking from lovely naps, we went to see the movie Home. It was a wonderful Easter!April 8, 2015

We woke up to go pick up our rental car for our trip to Ohio. We’d reserved a van, knowing that we would fill it to the top with our Ikea purchases. We were delighted to see it included a DVD player for her entertainment! We loaded up the car and were on the road around 9:00. It was a torrential downpour that we managed to drive right along with all the way to Dayton, but it was a fun trip nonetheless.

We arrived at the US Air Force Museum a little after 11:00, and headed in. She was most excited about the space exhibits. She loved the space shuttle landing simulation game, and was really excited to see the actual space shuttle trainer the astronauts trained on.

Afterwards, we headed on to our hotel to get checked in at 2:00. We dropped our stuff off at the room and went to have lunch at Smokey Bones. We had passed a huge outlet mall on the drive down from Dayton, so we headed back that way for some shopping. After some shopping, she said she wanted to go back to the hotel to swim.

It was the coldest swimming pool I’ve ever touched. So cold I couldn’t even get in! She insisted, however, and swam for maybe 20 minutes before Daddy came down. I finally coaxed her out of the pool, and we went up to get dressed to go ahead and go to Ikea.

She had a fantastic time at Ikea. She LOVED playing with a little tea set that stopped her in her tracks twice as it was set out in the store to play with, so that ended up being her Ikea purchase.

After Ikea, it was dinner time so we went to the BW3s next door to our hotel for dinner.

April 9, 2015

Thursday we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. We checked out, loaded the car, and headed back to the outlet mall for some more shopping. Afterwards, we went to Jungle Jim’s.

She ended up telling me that her favorite part of our trip to Ohio was “swimming in the pool and eating potatoes at BW3s.”

April 10, 2015

At dinner, I asked her “What is like to be three?”

She responded “"Well, because I'm growing bigger every day, the sun shines on me like a spotlight, because I'm so beautiful."April 11, 2015

Goggles at swim class.

April 14, 2014

Playing with ice at school.

April 15, 2015

Lizzy had her school photos taken today. They turned out so beautifully! It will be hard to choose our favorites.

April 17, 2015

Tonight was Young Author’s night. She had worked so hard on her book for several weeks. The dedication was so beautiful. She was very proud of her book. Oh, that painting behind her shoulder is her painting of a T-Rex.

April 18, 2015

When we go to the grocery store, we spend a lot of time practicing reading labels. We got to popcorn, and I asked her what you thought it said, since she had just successfully read a can of “corn.”She thought about it for a second, sounding the word out in her head. She answered “p–orn.” Daddy and I chuckled at this faux pas, so she knew something about it was funny. She then proceeded to walk up and down the aisles saying “p orn, p orn, p orn.” I didn’t know how to make it stop! It was hilarious, truly. April 22, 2015She was so proud of her day at school. She was the only kid who didn’t get tricked during “Simon Says”, and she also won “Hot Potato.” She’s very keen on being the winner.After dinner, we were driving back home and she told her Daddy “Dad, you need to drive 50 months and 100 points.” Whatever that means!She had also asked to get her nails painted, so we popped into a nail salon for a quick manicure.

April 24, 2015

Several weeks ago, she had asked me if we would take her to “the place where Daddy caught the egg in his mouth” for her birthday. This of course means our favorite hibachi restaurant. So, even though we had plans to go there for her birthday in 2 weeks, it sounded really good, so we headed there for dinner anyhow.

She had a wonderful time! The chef let her try to catch rice in her mouth. She was so close to success! She did manage to catch some egg in her “magic hair.”After dinner, our breeder sent us an updated photo of Winston.

We are so excited to bring him home in 6 more weeks!

April 25, 2015

She got her swim class report card today, since it’s the last day of her current class.

She learned so much from this class! We start the next class next week.I had worn a Twister shirt that morning, which Lizzy asked me about. I told her it’s a really fun game, and explained it to her. She proclaimed she really wanted us to buy Twister, so after dinner that evening we headed to Target to pick it up. There we were, at 11:30 at night, playing Twister in our living room. It was such fun!

May 2, 2015

So swim lessons have been a great use of time. She started a new cycle of swim classes, and it began with a swim test to check competency. She went up a level! No longer a Pike, she's now an Eel! She was very proud of herself. I was pretty proud too.

May 3, 2015

Daddy had left early in the morning to head to Orlando for work, so it was just Lizzy and I on a sunny, beautiful day. Our original plan was to stay home, but once the sun came out around noon we decided to go to Conner Prairie instead. We had a great time!

The highlights were the baby animals, of course (including a week old goat), and then we played in the kids zone for about 90 minutes before closing time. She and I also made a killer blanket fort!

May 5, 2015

I had Lizzy's last Parent-Teacher conference of the year. Her teacher's exact words were "She's off the charts smart."

So proud of our almost-4-year-old.

For Lizzy's birthday, Winston's breeder posted some special videos so she could see him, and this picture. He had fallen asleep playing with this rope. One more month until he joins our family!

After he'd been put back in the playpen with his litter mates, he was NOT happy about it. Listen to this big crybaby!